Sweden delivers 10 Leopard 2 tank variants to Ukraine.
Ukraine has received 10 Swedish variants of Leopard 2A5 tanks known as Stridsvagn 122, manned by Ukrainian crews trained in Sweden, the Swedish military announced on Sept.
21. "We have given them all that we can in terms of great materiel and good knowledge," Operations Commander of Sweden's Army Staff Mats Ludvig said. "We wish them all the luck in the world and that they succeed in freeing their country."
Sweden announced the decision to send 10 of its Stridsvagn 122 vehicles, Leopard tanks licensed by Sweden and with additional modifications, on the first anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb.
24, 2023. Stockholm also provided training to Ukrainian crews on the vehicles on Swedish soil. According to the Swedish military's press statement, the tanks were delivered to Ukraine some time ago, without specifying the exact date.
Before this donation, the Swedish military fielded 120 Stridsvagn 122 tanks in its arsenal, meaning that almost a tenth have been donated to bolster Kyiv's fight against Russian aggression. Several other partners have provided Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, including Germany, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Denmark.
Media: Denmark, Netherlands buy 14 Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine Denmark and the Netherlands have signed contracts to purchase 14 Leopard 2 tanks from the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall for Ukraine, the German newspaper Handelsblatt wrote on June 15, citing NATO officials.
Martin FornusekNews Editor
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.
He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press.
He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer.
Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.